Veterans Have Options with VA Mortgage Loans

 Honorably discharged veterans from every branch of the military as well as active duty service members can be eligible for a VA mortgage loan across New Mexico and the United States. 

There are many different options out there when it comes to selecting your mortgage loan provider as an active duty soldier, a veteran, or even the widowed spouse of a soldier. 

At the same time, there are also various requirements that must be met and exclusions to note if you are in the market for a zero money down home loan with the awesome benefits of a VA mortgage loan.

Qualifying for a VA Mortgage Loan

Before going into all the little details, you should probably know if you even qualify or not. For starters, you obviously have to be or have been in the military. An active duty member of the military, you must meet one of two requirements.

In order to qualify for a VA loan, you need to have served 90 days or more during wartime or at least 180 days during peace time. If you are a veteran, the requirements are the same, but you must have been honorably discharged as a dishonorable discharge negates any and all military bonuses and benefits.

Active reserve and National Guard have access to the VA loan program after six years of service to their country. This type of requirement makes perfect sense since they are typically not on the 'frontline.'

Widowed spouses of a veteran may be eligible for a VA loan as well if the death was related to military service or their spouse has been MIA or a POW for more than 90 days.

Reasons to Apply for a VA Home Loan

If you are buying your first home and qualify for a VA loan, use it. Typically, most home loans require 10% to 20% down, which can be well over $10,000. And, in many cases, young families don't have that kind of money available to them.

As someone who qualifies for a VA loan, you can purchase a home with zero down. Other than a few closing costs, you will pay next to nothing. This makes it a great option for first-time home buyers and their families, fresh out of service or still actively serving.

With Indigo Mortgage, a veteran can easily find themselves in a beautiful new home with little out-of-pocket expenses used only to cover closing costs. Of course, they must be eligible according to the VA's standards as well as meet a few requirements of our own mortgage standards. For more information, check us out today.

Posted by Indigo Mortgage at 8:53 AM No comments:

Buying a House with the FHA

While the Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) home loans was sort of swept under the rug for a decade or so due to the housing market rise, the FHA loan has actually been around since the 1930s. Since then, hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of Americans have used the service over the years to turn the dream of homeownership into a reality.

Only in recent years -- starting in the 1990s -- had the FHA home loan seemingly disappeared. This was because most home prices were starting to rise above the FHA home loan maximum with most tract homes costing north of $300,000 and many other homes being well over half a million dollars. 

Now that the housing market has gone down and shifted back to a buyer's market, the FHA home loan has made its timely return.

How it Works

The FHA itself does not actually make a mortgage loan; rather, it insures a mortgage loan, thus lowering the risk that a lender is taking when a buyer puts down less than 20%. 

This procedure allows buyers with less immediate funding and without a large lump of cash just lying around to put an offer on and purchase a house.

The FHA home loan does, however, have a maximum mortgage limit, meaning that the price of a home cannot exceed a specific amount and the mortgage loan itself cannot exceed another specific amount. As of 2009, the mortgage limit was $625,000, and the loan limit was in the $400,000range though these numbers do vary from county to county all over the country.

The Good about FHA Home Loans

Even with a poor credit history and less than great credit 'score,' you may still qualify for an FHA loan. In fact, even after a foreclosure, you may qualify, but you may have to just give it a couple of years.

Another amazing feature is that a non-resident can co-sign on an FHA loan, such as a parent or guardian of a first-time homebuyer. These features and others are all geared towards helping people get on their feet again and gives them a shot at home ownership. Finally, the best being about FHA home loans is that the interest rate on these loans is at 3.75% with a 30-year fixed rate, which is a great interest rate to get!

There's More Good News

Although an FHA mortgage loan will always require upfront monthly mortgage insurance and insurance payments, which will end up having you pay more per month, the fact that you  are able to practically put no money down means that the upfront a month to month payment may very well be perfect for your financial situation.

Remember that if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Indigo Mortgage today because our expert, professional team knows all there is to know about FHA mortgage loans, and no one else cares more about your loan than we do!

Posted by Indigo Mortgage at 11:40 AM No comments:

Is the Interest Rate the Most Important Factor in Refinancing Your Mortgage Loan?

The Answer

The answer is no and here’s why. Chances are, if you have begun to do any research into mortgage companies and refinancing, then you have seen an ad or page link on Google advertising 'Lowest Rates,’ 'Best Rates,' etc.

While you may not have pondered on it for long, chances are you came to the conclusion in which it seems every mortgage company claims to have the lowest and best rates in the business. While you do want a lower interest rate, one thing that you should keep in mind is that, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

There is always a catch and nothing in this world is free. Just because the ad says they offer the lowest interest rates doesn't mean they actually do. While this may appear to be false advertising, it is really just clever advertising designed to reel you in.

A few things you need to remember is that, with many businesses, they will always have their welfare in mind. When a company truly goes above and beyond for you, they really are handling things right and professionally. However, with so many companies out there, how do you weed out the ones that care more about their cash flow then their customers?

What to Look for When Refinancing

When you have made the financial decision to refinance your mortgage, don't just go with the first company you come across. Instead, let them know you are inquiring about interest rates and have every intention of shopping around.

At this point, they will either make you the true best deal they can or they will give you some obscenely low promotional rate. As tempting as it may be to take them up on it, don't. Promotional rates almost always expire at some point and then you will find yourself locked into an obscenely high new rate to pay.

A few other things to watch out for is don't work with a lender that charges an application fee as many companies no longer add this fee to the refinancing process. Negotiate lower origination/activation fees as these fees are not static and can be lowered. Finally, while saving $20 a month in exchange for a thirty-year loan might sound appealing, it's not a good idea. Better to make sure you have a refinance mortgage loan that fits your unique needs.

Now comes probably the most important question: what is the most important factor when refinancing? The company that you go with as it is not them who get to pick and choose -- it's you.  Be sure to go with a knowledgeable company that puts your needs first and considers your mortgage loan refinance the most important thing over trying to do a too-good-to-be-true deal!

Posted by Indigo Mortgage at 11:46 AM 1 comment: